U.S. futures higher on Greece optimism; Dow Jones up 0.45%

Investing.com

Jan. 31, 2012, 7:02 AM

Forexpros - U.S. stock futures pointed to an upbeat open on Tuesday, tracking global equities higher as appetite for riskier assets was boosted amid indications of progress in talks between Greece and its bondholders while markets awaited earnings results from online retail giant Amazon and oil major Exxon. Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.45%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.4% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.45% gain. Speaking at a European Union summit in Brussels, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said "significant progress" was made in talks aimed at restructuring the country's debt, boosting hopes that a deal can be finalized before the end of the week. An agreement is necessary for Greece to secure the next tranche of bailout funds in order to prevent a sovereign debt default. Meanwhile, EU leaders agreed on its fiscal union pact and signed off on the details of a EUR500 billion permanent bailout fund for the euro zone. Shares in the financial sector advanced ahead of the open, tracking their European counterparts higher. Bank of America shares added 0.75%, while investment bank Goldman Sachs rose 0.65%. Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly saw shares climb 1.15% after reporting fourth quarter revenue of USD6.05 billion, beating expectations for revenue of USD5.88 billion. The company also reaffirmed its 2012 full-year outlook. Shares in rival Pfizer rose 0.55% as investors positioned themselves in the stock ahead of the company's fourth quarter earnings results later in the day. Online retail giant Amazon advanced 1.35% as the company was scheduled to release earning figures for the final three months of 2011 after Tuesday's closing bell. Also reporting results Tuesday were oil giant Exxon-Mobile and global shipper United Parcel Service. On the downside, electronics retailer RadioShack saw shares plummet 19.65% after warning that its fiscal fourth quarter earnings will fall significantly short of market expectations, citing the poor performance of its partnership with Sprint, the third largest US mobile carrier. Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were broadly higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1%, France's CAC 40 jumped 1.25%, Germany's DAX rose 0.95%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.7%. During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.15%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 Index eased up 0.1%. Later Monday, the U.S. was to release industry data on house price inflation, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in the Chicago region. The country is also to publish a report on consumer confidence. Forexpros - Forexpros offers an extensive set of professional tools for the Forex, Commodities, Futures and the Stock Market including real-time data streaming, a comprehensive economic calendar, as well as financial news and technical & fundamental analysis by in-house experts. Follow Forexpros on Twitter at @ Forexprosnews